Method of imaging transparent objects with coherent light

ABSTRACT

A method of improving the quality of images formed by illuminating nondiffuse transparent objects with coherent light, such as in microholography, wherein undesirable noise and grain is appreciably reduced by illuminating the object with coherent light that is characterized in having constant amplitude and random phase. This type of coherent light may be obtained by inserting a phase modulator in the path of the illuminating light in close proximity to the object, the phase modulator acting to scatter the light at very small angles.

United States Patent Upatnieks Jan. 25, 1972 METHOD OF IMAGING TRANSPARENT [56] References Cited OBJECTS WITH COHERENT LIGHT OTHER PUBLICATIONS Inventor: Juris Upatnieks, Ann Arbor, Mich. Assignee: Holotron Corporation, Wilmington, Del.

Filed: June 26, 1970 Appl. No.: 59,862

Related U.S. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 638,031, May 12, 1967, Pat. No.

U.S. Cl Int. Cl.

Field of Search ..'................356/l25 ..G02b 27/22 350/35; 356/125 Armitage et al., 4 Applied Optics 46 l- 467 (4/1965) Gabor, Electronics and Power, pp. 230- 234 (7/l966) De Bitetto, 8 Applied Physics Letters 78- 80 (2/ l 966) Suzuki, 5 Jap. Journal of Applied Physics 814- 817 (9/l966) Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-Robert L. Sherman Attorney-Woodcock, Washburn, Kurtz & Mackiewicz [5 7] ABSTRACT A method of improving the quality of images formed by illuminating nondiffuse transparent objects with coherent light, such as in microholography, wherein undesirable noise and grain is appreciably reduced by illuminating the object with coherent light that is characterized in having constant amplitude and random phase. This type of coherent light may be obtained by inserting a phase modulator in the path of the illuminating light in close proximity to the object, the phase modulator acting to scatter the light at very small angles.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a division of application Ser. No. 638,031 filed May 12, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION image. One of the principal applications is in the field of microscopy where a thin section to be examined is illuminated with light and viewed with an optical system. For some uses it is desirable to illuminate the object with laser light because of its very intense brightness. Another related application is in the filed of holography or microholography where it is desirable to make a hologram of the specimen or object being illuminated. In this case it is necessary to use coherent light such as a laser to illuminate the object. By producing a hologram, the wave front coming from the specimen is preserved and can be reconstructed at a later time for use with one or several microscopy techniques.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The use of coherent light to illuminate transparent objects has given rise to problems not encountered in ordinary incoherent imaging of transparencies. One major problem encountered is the formation of spurious diffraction patterns, usually appearing as circular Fresnel zone patterns, resulting from such things as dust or dirt on the transparent object or imperfections in an optical lens system used in the imaging process. These dust particles or lens imperfections diffract the light so as to cause interference between the diffracted light and undifiracted light, thereby creasing the undesirable interference ring pattern at the image plane. These undesired n'ng patterns are analogous to noise in a communication system and can be eliminated with the utilization of a diffusion plate interposed between the source of coherent light and the transparent object being imaged. The diffusion plate, in effect, destroys the regularity of the spatial amplitude and phase of the illuminating wave front without affecting the temporal coherence thereof. This method effectively spreads out the noise over the entire image plane, thereby rendering it virtually invisible to the observer. The use of a diffusing plate in a coherent light transparency imaging system is more fully explained in the November 1964 edition of the Journal of the Optical Society of America, beginning at page 1,295 and entitled Wave front Reconstruction With Diffused Illumination and B-Dimensional Objects by Emmet N. Leith and Juris Upatneiks.

While the utilization of a diffusion plate in an imaging system of the type described effectively eliminates the problem of spurious diffraction patterns or noise, it creates another problem which in some applications is very objectionable. This problem now referred to is the production of a very discernible grainy background to the image resulting from the utilization of a diffusion plate in the illuminating beam. This grainy background is believed to be a result of the random amplitude produced by the diffusion screen. The grainy pattern, while not particularly objectionable in imaging objects of ordinary size, becomes a real problem in microimaging systems wherein the order of magnitude of size of the objects being imaged are of the same order as the grains themselves.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method of imaging transparent objects with coherent radia- I tion which eliminates both the noise-and the grain heretofore present.

. 2' Another object of this invention is to provide a method of producing holograms of transparent objects which are capable of reconstructing images thereof which are relatively free of undesirable noise and grain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the objects of this invention are accomplished in a method of imaging transparent objects with coherent light wherein a phase modulator is placed in the system between the source of coherent light and the transparent object being imaged, the phase modulator having the property of randomly scattering the illuminating light at small angles thereby impart ing a random phase on the illuminating beam while the amplitude thereof remains constant.

While the process which is regarded as the invention is distinctly pointed out and described in the appended claims, the underlying principles of this invention, together with a detailed description thereof, may be more readily apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A illustrates an embodiment of this invention in which a hologram of a transparent object is produced;

FIG. 18 illustrates a reconstruction process from the hologram made in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred arrangement of a portion of the system illustrated in FIG. 1A; and

FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a specific application in which the present invention may be employed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A Referring to FIG. 1A, the invention is illustrated in an embodiment including an illuminating source of coherent radiation 11, which may be a laser, which produces a beam of spatial and temporal coherent radiation 13, a portion of which is directed to pass through a nondiffuse transparent object 15. A nondiffuse transparent object is any transparent object that does not scatter light at wide angles. Almost all transparent objects are nondiffuse; however, in the case of a diffuse transparent object, such as a ground glass diffusion screen, the present invention is not applicable, inasmuch as such an object practically destroys the amplitude and phase regularity of any light passing therethrough. The object 15 is preferably a two-dimensional object. However, the invention is applicable in the case of a three-dimensional transparent object of which only a selected planar portion is desired to be imaged.

The object 15, after being illuminated by beam 13 may be imaged by means of an optical lens system (not shown) such as in ordinary microscopy, or may be utilized to produce a hologram of the object 15 as is illustrated in FIG. 1A. ln'FIG. 1A, the beam 13 impinges upon a hologram detector surface 17 positioned at the hologram plane and is caused to interfere with a reference beam 19 derived from the same source 11 so as to be coherent therewith. The method for producing the reference beam 19 may include a beam splitter 21 inserted in the path of the beam 13, a mirror 23 to deflect the beam 19 to the hologram detector surface 17, and a lens 25 to make the reference beam diverging if so desired. The method of producing a hologram as thus far described in connection with FIG. IA is now well known to those skilled in the art and no detailed description of this method is deemed necessary for the present purposes. Such a detailed description may be found in the US. application Ser. No. 503,993, filed Oct. 23,

'An image 15a will appear in an image plane spaced from the hologram at a distance determined by the relative curvatures between the reference-beam .19 in the construction process and the illuminating beam 190.

If, during the construction of the hologram, there existed any dust or other imperfections in the system, the reconstructed image a, will include diffraction patterns which are objectionable because they are regular in nature and thus draw the attention of the observer. Also, if a transparent-type object is being imaged with coherent radiation, imperfections in the imaging system utilized will cause such diffraction patterns at the image plane.

By introducing a phase modulator 27 directly in front of the transparent obiect 15 during the construction process of FIG. 1A, the resulting interference patterns in the reconstructed image 15a due to imperfections or dust in the system become irregular and thus relatively invisible, due to the random phase of the illuminating light. By imposing the requirement on the phase modulator 27 that the amplitude of the beam 13 passing therethrough remain constant, the image produced will be free of the grainy structure that is characteristic of images produced with diffused coherent light.

In order to prove that the desired results are truly accomplished according to the teachings of this invention, a mathematical analysis has been performed with respect to both the elimination of regular diffraction patterns and the elimination of the grain pattern background at the image plane. Without going into this mathematical analysis (for it is quite extensive and complex and is not necessary in the basic understanding of this invention) it suffices to say that in analyzing the mathematical expression for the wave front at the image plane and considering the desired results intended to be accomplished, it was shown that in order to reduce the noise and the grain effects in the image, the phase term and the amplitude term of the illuminating light beam 13 were required to be respectively random and constant.

The phase modulator 27 may be of any desired type so long as the characteristics of random phase and constant amplitude are met. In carrying out actual tests of this invention, it has been found that such a phase modulator in its preferred form comprises a phase plate that scatters the illuminating light over very small angles in a random fashion. Such a phase plate may comprise a sheet of ordinary antiglare glass, one side of which has been polished flat. Another embodiment of such a phase plate comprises a sheet of glass or other transparent material in which shallow etches have been provided, or, alternatively, on which a special coating of suitable material has been applied. Additionally, in some cases it may be desireable to direct the object beam to a reflective phase modulator (which may be a mirror with an irregular surface) and then produce an image of the reflective phase modulator at a position coincident with or close to the object. It should be understood that the particular phase modulators disclosed herein are presently considered preferred forms of the phase modulator 27, but in no way limits the invention to such forms.

It has been found that the best results are obtained when the phase modulator 27 is positioned as close as possible to the transparent object 15. The reason for this is that when the phase modulator is spaced away from the object, interference may result due to the angular scattering of the light, the result of which would be a modulation of the amplitude of the light beam 13 passing through the object 15. The spacing distance must be small enough so that the light scattered by the phase modulator impinges on the transparent object before it has traveled far enough to interfere with light from an adjacent position on the phase modulator.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a preferred form of the present invention, an imaging system comprising a pair of lenses 2'9 and 31 are utilized to produce an image 27a of the phase modulator 27 at an image plane which is coplanar with the plane of the object 15. Although the imaging system of FIG. 2 is preferred, it is possible that with good quality phase modulators in which the angle of modulation is very small, a certain allowable separation distance exists between the phase modulater and the object and therefore it is not intended that the invention be limited to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2.

Ina-n In the detailed mathematical analysis carried out in conjunction with testing the basic principles of this invention, it was determined that the lack of grainy structure at the image plane due to the employment of the phase modulator-.27 occurs only where the amplitude of the image-carrying wave front is constant and further, that this constant amplitude wave front occurs only at the image plane of the imaging system utilized, if any. Furthermore, it was determined that the frequency spectrum of the image carrying wave front must be within the band pass of the optical imaging system utilized, or else the amplitude at the focal plane will not remain constant and the grainy appearance will be present. This observation puts the further requirement that the aperture of the imaging system be large enough to include the entire frequency band of the illuminating wave front.

These observations give rise to specific applications of the discoveries underlying thisinvention, one of which is illustrated in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3 similar elements as those in FIG. 1A are utilized and are given like reference numerals. However, in FIG. 3 a system for imaging a transparent object is depicted rather than the system for producing a hologram as illustrated in FIG. 1A. Therefore, FIG. 3 includes a pair of lenses 33 and 35 utilized to produce an image of the object 15 at an image plane 37.

In FIG. 3, two additional planes 37a and 371: are illustrated on either side of the focal plane 37 of the imaging system. Ac-

cording to this invention, the grain free image will appear at the focal plane 37, but an out of focus grainy image will appear at both the out of focus planes 37a and 371;. By moving the image plane 37 along the path of the illuminating beam 13, for example, between the limits illustrated by planes 37a and 37b, the focal plane of the imaging system can be determined simply by observing at what position the grainy appearance disappears. It will be apparent that this method can also be used to determine any curvature existing in the field of the imaging system.

Another application of this invention utilizes a set of calibrated phase plates to determine the frequency response of an optical imaging system. In order to eliminate the grainy appearance at the image plane 37, the frequency band-pass of the optical system used for imaging must be as large as the frequency bandwidth of the phase plate. That is, the properties of each phase plate can be represented by random phase changes over a frequency range, and in order to eliminate the grainy appearance, the imaging system must be able to transmit signals over this frequency range. If the band-pass of the imaging system is less than the bandwidth of the phase plate, then the grainy appearance will not be eliminated. Thus, with a set of calibrated phase plates, each of a known bandwidth, the frequency response of an imaging system can be determined simply by observing which of the calibrated phase plates eliminates the grainy appearance at the image plane 37.

While the invention has been described in somewhat general terms without reference to a specific detailed and complex mathematical analysis, and while the invention has been illustrated in specific embodiments, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated. It is also considered desirable that the mathematical analysis be eliminated, inasmuch as it adds nothing to the understanding of the basic principles underlying this invention and may tend to confuse those not intimately familiar with mathematics on the level required by such analysis.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved method of producing a hologram of a nondiffuse transparent object with coherent light comprising the steps of:

directing coherent light through said transparent object,

placing a phase modulator or an image of the same in the path of said coherent light in close proximity or coincident to said transparent object, said phase modulator or image of the same having the property of altering the phase of said coherent light randomly while not affecting the amplitude thereof, .and I forming a hologram of said object with the phase modulated coherent light passing through said transparent object. 2. The method of determining the focal plane of an imaging system comprising the steps of:

directing a beam of coherent light through said imaging 5 Rain 6 an imaging system comprising the steps of: v

directing a beam of coherent light through said imaging system,

successively inserting one of a calibrated set of phase modulators in the path of said coherent light in front of said imaging system, said phase modulators characterized in that the phase of the coherent light passing therethrough is altered randomly while the amplitude thereof remains constant, each of said set of calibrated phase modulators having a known but successively different bandwidth, and

determining which of said set of phase modulators produces a grain-free image thereof at the focal plane of said imaging system, the frequency response of said imaging system being determinable from the bandwidth thereof. 

1. An improved method of producing a hologram of a nondiffuse transparent object with coherent light comprising the steps of: directing coherent light through said transparent object, placing a phase modulator or an image of the same in the path of said coherent light in close proximity or coincident to said transparent object, said phase modulator or image of the same having the property of altering the phase of said coherent light randomly while not affecting the amplitude thereof, and forming a hologram of said object with the phase modulated coherent light passing through said transparent object.
 2. The method of determining the focal plane of an imaging system comprising the steps of: directing a beam of coherent light through said imaging system, inserting a transparent object in the path of said coherent light in front of said imaging system, phase modulating the coherent light before or as it reaches said transparent object, said phase modulations being random and at such small angles so as to not substantially affect the amplitude of the coherent light, and determining an image plane of said imaging system wherein the background of an image of said object is substantially free of granularity.
 3. The method of determining the frequency band-pass of an imaging system comprising the steps of: directing a beam of coherent light through said imaging system, successively inserting one of a calibrated set of phase modulators in the path of said coherent light in front of said imaging system, said phase modulators characterized in that the phase of the coherent light passing therethrough is altered randomly while the amplitude thereof remains constant, each of said set of calibrated phase modulators having a known but successively different bandwidth, and determining which of said set of phase modulators produces a grain-free image thereof at the focal plane of said imaging system, the frequency response of said imaging system being determinable from the bandwidth thereof. 